Billy Batson (New Earth)
| Powers = | Abilities = Multilingual: Thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon, he has the ability to understand, comprehend, and speak any language on earth. Genius-Level Intellect: He also is considered a genius among geniuses. Smooth Talker: Another facet of his intelligence is ability to talk his way out of situations, as a man with an unprecedented amount of wisdom, he prefers to talk, rather than fight. | Strength = Class 100 +. As Captain marvel his strength is on par with Superman. When he received the upgrade to Lord Marvel and became the keeper of the Rock of Eternity he was one of the strongest beings in the Universe. | Weaknesses = High Order Magic: Only the strongest of magics can affect him in any particular way, such as those wielded by the Spectre. | Equipment = Historama: Shazam owned the Historama that adorns the space near his throne at the Rock of Eternity. It functions as a crystal ball, but with Incredible range and accuracy. He activates the Historama by saying, "Historama show me...". The historama has incredible material strength and provides the following abilities: :* Clairvoyance :* Clairaudience :* Remote Sensing :* Extra-dimensional Detection :* True Sight :* Dimensional Viewing :* Temporal Viewing: ability to look into the past, and functions just like Dimensional Viewing. These powers allow the Historama to "cleave through the barriers" to show the occupants of the Rock of Eternity what transpires in other dimensions and even other times. Batson had forgone the original historama and has opted for a more up to date version and has redirected the Rock of Eternity with a multitude of different tv screens which portrays whatever he chooses, just as the original historama. | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = * Hailed as "The World's Mightiest Mortal" in his adventures (and nicknamed "The Big Red Cheese" by archvillain Doctor Sivana, an epithet adopted by fans as a nickname for their hero), Captain Marvel was (based on sales) the most popular superhero of the 1940s. The Captain Marvel Adventures series sold more copies than Superman's Action Comics and other competing superhero books. Captain Marvel was also the first superhero to be adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and Marvel Family comics in 1953. This was due to both a general decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman. DC licensed the Marvel Family characters in 1972 and acquired all rights in 1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into the DC Universe, and DC has attempted a few revivals. Captain Marvel has not regained widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the character was very popular. * Due to the fact that Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book during the interim between the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years and DC years, DC Comics is unable to promote and market their Captain Marvel/Marvel Family properties under that name. They decided to use the word "Shazam" as the title of their comic book and thus the name under which they would market and promote the character. As a result, Captain Marvel himself is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Shazam." * In the Flashpoint altered timeline, Billy was the bearer of the courage of Achilles. | Trivia = * Captain Marvel's adventures have contributed a number of elements to both comic book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of these is the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries in Modern Age comic book stories. The Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in a popular comics story in MAD Magazine no. 4 from 1953, entitled "Superduperman", which was inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles. In the story, Superduperman (an obvious Superman doppelganger) does battle with the Captain Marvel-esque Captain Marbles. Marbles' magic word was not "SHAZAM", but "SHAZOOM", which stood for Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another, and Money. After DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, they followed MAD's cue and often pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters' long battles in court; they are otherwise staunch allies who get along very well with each other. Notable Superman/Captain Marvel battles in DC Comics stores include ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C-58 (1979), ''All-Star Squadron'' #37 (1984), ''Superman'' #102 (1995), the final issue of the ''Kingdom Come'' miniseries (1996), and in ''Superman'' #216 (2005). The "Clash" episode of Justice League Unlimited, which included Captain Marvel as a guest character, featured a Superman/Captain Marvel fight as its centerpiece. * 17 months after DC's first issue of Shazam!, a try-out of the first meeting of Captain Marvel and Superman was published in Superman #276, with a character called Captain Thunder. Captain Marvel and Superman would finally meet 18 months later in the December 1976 issue of Justice League of America #137. * Captain Marvel was the first major comic book hero to have a young alter ego. Although kid superheroes had generally been neglected before Marvel's introduction, kid sidekicks soon became commonplace shortly after Marvel's success: Robin was paired with Batman in May 1940, and Captain America was introduced with sidekick Bucky in March 1941. The idea of a young boy who transformed into a superhero proved popular enough to inspire a number of superheroes who undergo similar transformations, including Marvel Comics' Darkhawk, Malibu Comics' Prime, and animated/action figure superheroes such as Hanna-Barbera's Mighty Mightor and Young Samson, Mattel/Filmation's He-Man, and Warner Bros. Television's Freakazoid. Other heroes, including Marvel Comics' Thor, undergo similarly magical transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form. * In pop culture, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel's magic word, "Shazam!", became a popular exclamation from the 1940s on, often used in place of an expletive. The most notable user of the word "Shazam!" in this form was Gomer Pyle from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Elvis Presley was a fan of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child. Elvis later styled his hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Jr.'s costume and lightning-bolt insignia. Actor Cary Grant said that some of his younger fans told him they thought he bore an uncanny resemblance to Captain Marvel. * Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the superhero was still used for jokes, such as in The Monkees when Peter Tork tried to escape the ropes he was tied up in by yelling "Shazam!", only to magically break a mirror and sheepishly note that it's seven years bad luck for Captain Marvel. Several other episodes of The Monkees had Captain Marvel references, including using the name "Freddy Freeman" in dialogue. Captain Marvel also made a cameo in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his trademark exclamation, "Holy Moley!" * In the Fox Network animated series American Dad!, Steve's favorite t-shirt has Captain Marvel's signature lightning bolt insignia on it which he refers to as a "Shazam" shirt. Additionally, Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance in an episode of ABC Network's The Drew Carey Show as part of a dream sequence. | DC = | Wikipedia = Captain Marvel (DC Comics) | Links = *Captain Marvel Culture: The history and cultural significance of the many Captain Marvels *''Captain Marvel at the Guide to the Mythological Universe'' * | Recommended = *''Captain Marvel Adventures'' *''The Trials of Shazam''! *''Infinite Crisis'' *''52'' }} Category:Golden-Age Characters Category:Magicians Category:Former Justice League of America members Category:Marvel Family members Category:Justice League International members Category:1986 Character Debuts